Label-sewing machine



1, 21, 7 March 1927' P. w. HATFIELD 6 83 LABEL SEWING MACHINE FiledApril 17, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheetl 1%2/ entoi c mvww March 22 1927.

P. w. HATFIELD LABEL SEWING MACHINE Filed April 17. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Inventor arch P. w. HATFIELD LABEL SEWING MACHINE Filed April 17. 19223 Sheets-Sheet 5 In?) err/tor:

Patented Mar. 22, 1927.

U lTED PERCY W. HATFIELD, F WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0WINSHIP, BOIT & 00., 0F WAKEFIELD,

MASSACHUSETTS, A GOPABTNERSHI]? CONSISTING- 0F CHARLES N. \VINSHIP ANDELIZABETH S. BOI'I.

LABEL-SEWING- MACHINE.

Application filed April 17, 1922. Serial No. 553,433.

This invention relates to sewing machines,

. and is especially concerned with sewing machines of the characterdesigned to sew labels on to undergarn'ients or other work.

The type of machine usually employed for this purpose at the presenttime includes a single needle guided in a hollowrectangular presser footso that it sew around all four edges of the label. The present inventionaims to devise a mechanism with which the labels can be secured to thework more neatly and expeditiously. The invention contemplates a machinewhich will secure a label or similar article to the work by sewingsimultaneously across its opposite edges, and combines with such amechanism means for properly presenting the label to the needles. Itpreferably includes also mechanism for turning under the edges or endsof the label prior to being sewed by the needles and means forautomatically stopping the machine when the sewing operation has beencompleted.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a View, partly in side elevation and partly in crosssection, of a sewing ma chine modified in accordance with the presentinvention; I

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the manner in which this machine secures alabel to the work;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view through one of the seams which securesthe label to the work;

Fig. i is a cross sectional view through a portion of the mechanism thatcontrols the feeding of the work;

Fig. 5 a plan view, of the plunger used in the mechanism shown in Fig.4;;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the mechanism for starting and stopping themachine and controlling the feeding of the work;

Fig. 7 is an end view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the label handling mechanism provided bythis invention;

Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional plan view on the line 1010, Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view on the line 1111, Fig. 9; and

Figs. 12, 13 and 14: are views, partly 1n cross section and partly infront elevation,

showing successive steps in the process of folding the ends of thelabel. The plane of cross-section of these views is substantially asindicated by the line 1212, Fig. 8.

Referring first to Fig. 2, L designates a label bearing the makerstrade-mark, or other subject matter, and secured to a portion of thegarment or other piece ofwork by seams or lines of stitches SS. Thisfigure indicates the nature of the work which the present machine isintended to perform. 1

Themechanism embodying the present invention is shown in the drawings asapplied to a Singer sewing machine, designated in general at 2, andprovided with a needle bar 3 carrying a needle holder 4 in which aremounted two needles 55. --The machine also includes a presser foot 6mounted on the lower end of a presser foot bar 7 All these parts areconstructed, arranged and operated in the usual manner.

The label holding mechanism shown comprises a plate or holder 10, ofapproximately the length of a label, secured to the lower part 12 of aU-shaped frame having two side members 14 and 15. The plate 10 forms, ineffect, a continuation of another plate 16 having its sides turnedupwardly, as clearly shown in the drawings, to form a chute or hopper.The upper ends of the arms is and 15 are slotted to receive screws 18and 19, respectively, by means of which they are secured to the oppositesides of a bracket 20 which is fastened to the presser bar sleeve 21 bya set screw 22. The arms 14 and 15 are pivoted on the opposite ends of ayoke 23 which is secured to the presser foot bar 7 by means of a setscrew 24, screws 26 and 27, respectively, holding the two arms on theends of the yoke. It will now be evident that when the presser foot baris raised to lift the presser foot 6, the connections between this barand the label holder will swing the label holder upward and forward iinto approzrimately the relationship shown in Fig. 11.

In order to assist the operator in properly positioning a label in theholder, two stops 3030 are positioned near the forward edge of theholder. Each stop consists of a wire having a right angle bend therein,as clearly shown in the drawings, and both stops are secured in a smallrock shaft 31 mounted in ears that project from the lower sides ofmembers 32 and 33, respectively, which are secured to the opposite endsof a bar 34 guided in slots in 'the members lefand 15. The parts 32 and33 are secured on the lower'en ds of rods 36 and 37, respectively,

carrying studs 38 and 39 at their upper ends which project through camslots formed in disks 40 and 41, respectively, the cam groove in thepart 40 being shown at 42, Fig. 8, and that in the other cam beingidentical with it. 7

These cam disks 40 and 41 are mounted to rotate on the opposite ends ofthe yoke 23 and they are connected together by a bar 43 so that they arecompelled to rotate in unison. A pin M, Fig. 9, projecting inwardly fromthe-cam 40enters a slot formed in the lower part of a bracket l5 whichis secured to the machine frame. Consequentwhen the presser foot bar israised and lowered these connections produce a rotating movement of thecams 4:0 and 41, which movement is transmitted to the members 32, 33 and34, reciprocating these members in a direction parallel to the sidepieces 14L and 15 of the label holder frame. The rock shaft 31, on whichthe stops 30-30 are mounted, carries a forked piece 47 .which straddlesa pin4-8 secured in the bar 15. The paths in the cams 40 andel are sodesigned that when the presser foot bar is elevated and the label holderis swung into its upper or label receiving position, the parts 32 and 33are lifted and the stops 30-30 therefore are moved into their operativepositions, as shown in Fig. 11, where they determine the position of theforward edge of the label in the holder. hen the presser foot is depressed and the holder is swung into its lower position, where itpresents the label in position to be engaged by the needles, the parts33 and 34 are moved downwardly and this movement is transmitted to thestops 30-30, tipping them into their raised or inoperativepositions, asshown in Fig. 8.

When the label Lis placed in the holder its ends are guided bythenpturned sides of the plate 16. The plate 10, however, is not as wideas the plate 16, and'the end portions of the label, therefore, projectbeyond the opposite edges of this plate, as clearly shown, for instance,in Fig. 12. The forward movement of the label is limited at this time,as above stated, by the stops 3030.

lVhile the label is thus held in this position also has a dependingfinger, designated at 56 and 57, respectively, Fig. 12, and theselingers engage the opposite ends of the label after it has been placedon the plate 10 and thus serve to position it longitudinally.

lVhen the label is first placed in the holder the folders occupysubstantially the relationship to theholder shown in Fig. 12.Immediately after the holder has begun to move back toward its labelpresenting position, the bar 34 is depressed through its connectionswith the cams 40 and 41, as above described, and this movement enablesthe folders to bend the ends of the label downwardly past the edges ofthe plate, as clearly shown in Fig. 13. The folders are next movedinwardly toward each'other enabling them to fold the ends of the labelunder the plate 10, as shown in Fig. 14: and for the purpose ofproducing this movement an additional cam operated mechanism isprovided. This mechanism comprises two cams 58 and 59 adjustably securedto the outer faces of the respective cam disks 40 and 41. A screw 60,Fig. 8, secures the cam 58 in place and passes through a slot in thedisk 40 so that the angular relationship between the two parts 410 and58 may be adjusted. The parts 4-1 and 59 are similarly secured together;These cams are adapted to act, respectively, on the upper ends of levers62 and 63 fulcrumed' on blocks 64 amino, respectively, which are securedto the rods 36 and 37 previously referred to. The lower ends of theselevers are turned inwardly, as 7 are fastened to the respective blocks52 and.

53. The screws that secure these disks in place are eccent-ricallypositioned in the disks so that the movements of the two blocksrelatively to the plate 10 may be adjusted. This mechanism is timed tocause the folders to turn the ends of the label under, as shown in Fig.14, prior to the completion of the downward movement of the holder.

The downward and inward movement of the holder carries the forward edgeof the label under the points of the needles 5-5 so that as soon asthemechine is started into operation the needles will descend, enteringthe label near it opposite ends, and as the machine continues tooperate, the

- matically on to the loose pulley 71.

usual feeding mechanism will draw the label out of the holder, the stops303O at this time being raised. Mechanism is provided for automaticallystopping the machine after the needles have made a predetermined numberof stitches and for causing the needles to make superposed stitches atthe beginning and end of the line of stitches or seam made by eachneedle.

Referring to Figs. 1, 6 and 7, the fast and loose pulleys of the machineare shown at and 71, respectively, and the driving belt at 7 2. Theposition of the belt is controlled by a shipper fork 7 3 mounted on abracket 74 which is fulcrumed at 75 and is normally held with the belton the loose pulley 71 by means of a spring 76 included in theconnections between the bracket 74 and the treadle 77. WVhen thistreadle is depressed the bracket 74 is rocked in a counter-clockwisedirection, Fig. 1, thus throwing the belt 7 2 on to the fast pulley 70and starting the main shaft 78 ofthe machine. Another shaft 80 is driventhrough a bevel gear connection 81 with the shaft 78 and carries a worm82 driving a worm wheel 83 fast on a horizontal shaft 84 which ismounted at the rear of the machine. This shaft carries a cam 85 whichoperates a brake lever 86, and it also carries a throw-out cam 87adapted to actuate, at certain times, a dog 88 which is pivoted on ascrew 113, Fig. 7. After the machine has been started into operation aspring 89, acting through the dog 88, holds the shipper fork 73 in itsrunning position; but when the machine has made a predetermined numberof revolutions, and therefore has produced a given number of stitches,one of the projections of the cam 87 engages the dog 88 and swings itaway from the fork 73, thus allow ing the spring 76 to shift the belt 72auto- At the same time that this happens, the cam 85 operates the lever86 to apply the brake to the fast pulley 7 0 and thus slow up themachine. Also, while these operations are taking place a pin 90, Fig. 7,projecting from the pulley 70, is engaging a curved arm 91 whichprojects laterally from a head formed on the upper end of a post 92which is mounted in the bracket 74 and is held in its raised position bya spring 93. The pin 90 thus depresses the arm 91 against the tension ofthespring 92 and finally comes to rest in a socket 94 in the head thusstopping the machine in a predetermined position with the needles 55elevated. It will be understood that when the treadle 77 is depresedagain to start the machme, the con nections with the bracket 74 tip itfar enough to disengage the socket 94 from the pin 90 so that theseparts then will not interfere with the starting of the machine.

The feeding movement of the work is effected in the usual manner throughconnections with a feed lever 96, Fig. 1, but this feeding movement is,according to the present invention, controlled in a novel manner. Thelever 96 forms essentially an eccentric strap running on a tubularprojection or sleeve 97, Fig. 4, extending from a plate 98 secured tothe face of a disk 99 mounted fast on the shaft 78. The plate 98is'pivoted on a screw 100, and its range of movement is limited byanother screw 101 projecting through a slot formed in the opposite edgeof the plate. A spring 102, mounted in one side of the plate 98, pressesa block 103 against the surface of the shaft 7 8 and tends to swing theplate 98 about the pivot 100, this movement however, being limited by anadjusting screw 103 which is mounted in the opposite side of the plate98 and has an end projecting through a hole formed in the shaft 78 andbearing against the tip of a plunger 104 located axially in the shaft78. This plunger has a reduced tip 105, Fig. 5, and a slightly largerportion 106 immediately behind the tip 105. When the adjusting screw 103engages the tip 105, the plate 98 is then held by the spring 102 and pin103 with the sleeve 97 in a concentric relationhip to the shaft 78.Consequently, no oscillating movement will be imparted to the feed lever96 at this time. hen, however, the plunger is moved inwardly to bringthe part 106 thereof in engagement with the screw 103, the plate 98 willbe tipped to the right, Fig. 4, thus moving the sleeve 97 into aneccentric position. The sleeve now imparts an oscillating movement tothe lever 96 which,

in turn, operates the usual work feeding mechanism.

The inward and outward movement of the plunger 104 is produced by a cam108, Figs. 6 and 7, secured fast on the shaft 84. This cam has a campath 109 to receive a roll 110, mounted on the end of a lever 112,whichis fulcrumed on a screw 113 and carries another roll 114 at its oppositeend running between the flanges of a grooved collar 115 secured on theend of the plunger 104. The cam path 109 is so designed that when themachine starts into operation the needles 5-5 make two stitches withoutfeeding. Their normal feeding movement is then begun and continued untila predetermined number of stitches have been made through each end ofthe label. Then, as the machine is about to stop automatically, theneedles make two more stitches without feeding. These superposedstitches at the opposite ends of each seam tie the thread sufficientlyto prevent it from unravelling.

It will now be understood that it is merely necessary for the operatortoplace a label in the holder 16, this'operation being performed when themachine is stopped and the presser foot raised, and then to depress thepresser :footeithcr icy-moving the presser foot lever 1L6, Fig. 8, or bydepressing a treadle which is connected with the presser foot in amanner usual in machines of this type. This results in automaticallyturning under the ends of the label and presenting the label in properposition for engagement by the-needles. The operator next depresses the'treadle 77 and immediately releases it :again, this operation servingto start the machine into action, whereupon it automatically causes theneedles to sew across the opposite ends or edges of the label and stopautomatically. The operator then removes the work, cuts the threads,replaces another piece of work, introduces another label, and repeatsthe operations just described.

The machine performs the label sewing operation very neatly and morerapidly than the machines hereto-fore used for this purpose. V

\Vhile I have herein shown and described the best embodiment of theinvention which I have so far devised, it will readily be appreciatedthat the invention is susceptible :of lernb'odiment'in many formsdiffering in details of construction from the arrangement shown. I donot wish, therefore, to be limited to the particular construction shown.It will also be appreciated that while I have described the machine asadapted particularly for sewing on labels, since this is an importantcommercial field for the machine, it is, nevertheless, adapted to otheruses where two parallel lines of stitches-are to be made and the machinestopped automatically.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is: r

-1. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart, the combinationof means for presenting'alabelin position to have its opposite edgessewed to the work. I

spaced apart and mechanism for operatln'g simultaneously by saidneedles, mechanism for causing said needles to make overlap pingstitches at the start and finish of the sewing operation, and meansforautomatically stopping the machine when said sewing operation has beencompleted.

2. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart and mechanism foroperating said needles, the combination of means for presenting a labelin position to have its opposite edges sewed to the work simultaneouslyby said needles, and mechanism for causing said needles to makeoverlapping stitches at the start and finish or" the sewing operation.

3. In a sewing machine having twov needles spaced apart-and mechanismfor operating said needles, the combination of means for presenting alabel in position to have its opposite edges sewed to the worksimultaneously by said needles, and autoously by said needles saidholder.

spaced apart and mechanism for operating said needles, the combinationof means for presentlng a label in position to have its opposite edgessewed to the work simultaneand automatic mechanism for modifying-theaction of the feeding mechanism of the machine. to cause the needles tomake overlapping stitches at the start and finishof the sewingoperation.

Ina sewingmachine having two needles spaced apart and mechanism foroperating said needles, the combination of means for presenting a. labelin positionto have its opposite edges sewed to. the work simultaneouslyby said needles, and mechanism for causing said needles to make apredetermined numberof stitches and then stop automatically.

6. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart and mechanism foroperating said needles, the combination of means for presenting alabelin position to have its opposite edges sewed to the work simultaneously by said needles, manually operated means for controlling thestarting of themachine into operation, and automatic means for stoppingthe machine when said needles have made a predetermined number ofstitches- 7. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart andmechanism for operating said needles, the combination of means forpresenting a label in position to have its opposite edges sewed to thework simultaneously by said needles, said label resenting meansincluding a holder for the .abel, and means for gaging the positiono'fthe label in 8. In a sewing machine having two needles said needles,the combination of means for presenting a label in position to have itsopposite edges sewed to the work simultaneously by said needles, saidlabel presenting means including a holder for the label, and

stops for determining the position of the said holder, and mec'h'anism:for movingsaid stops into and out of their operative positions. i

10. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart and mechanism'for'opcrating said needles, the combination of a holder for presentinga label in position to enable said needles to sew the opposite ends ofsaid label simultaneously to the work, and means for moving said holderinto and out of position to present a label properly for said sewingoperation.

11. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart, mechanism foroperating said needles and a presser foot mechanism, the combination ofa holder for presenting a label in position to have its opposite edgessewed to the work simultaneously by said needles, and means connectedwith said presser foot mechanism and arranged to be operated thereby formoving said holder from a label receiving position into position topresent a label to said needles for the sewing operation.

12. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart and mechanismfor operating said needles, the combination of means for presenting alabel in position to enable said needles to sew the opposite ends ofsaid labels simultaneously to the work, said means comprising a holderincluding a plate on which a label rests with its ends projecting beyondthe edges of the plate, and devices for engaging said projecting'endsand folding them under the plate.

13. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart and mechanismfor operating said needles, the combination of means for presenting alabel in position to enable said needles to sew the opposite ends ofsaid labels simultaneously to the work, said means comprising a holderincluding a plate on which a label rests with its ends projecting beyondthe edges of the plate, folders for engaging said projecting ends, andmechanism for relatively moving said plate and folders to cause thefolders to turn the ends of the lab-e1 downwardly and inwardly under theplate.

14:. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart and a presserfoot mechanism, the combination of means for presenting a label inposition to enable said needles to sew the opposite ends of said labelssimultaneously to the work, said means comprising a holder including aplate on which a label rests with its ends projecting beyond the edgesof the plate, folders for engaging said projecting ends, and mechanismconnected with the presser foot mechanism of the machine and arranged tobe operated thereby for relatively moving said plate and folders tocause the folders to turn the ends of the label downwardly and inwardly.

15. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart and a presserfoot mechanism, the combination of means for presenting a label inposition to enable said needles to sew the opposite ends of said labelssimultaneously to the work, said means comprising a holder including aplate on which a label rests with its ends projecting beyond the edgesof the plate, folders for engaging said projecting ends, mechanismconnected with the presser foot mechanism of the machine and arranged tobe operated thereby for relatively moving said plate and folders tocause the folders to turn the ends of the label downwardly and inwardly,and means arranged to be operated by said presser foot mechanism to movesaid holder into position to present the edge of the folded label undersaid needles.

16. In a sewing machine having two needles spaced apart and a presserfoot mechanism, the combination of a holder for presenting a label inposition to have its opposite edges sewed to the work simultaneously bysaid needles, and means connected with said presser foot mechanism andarranged to be operated thereby for moving said holder from its labelreceiving position into label sewing position and for returning theholder again to its label receiving position.

PERCY W. HATFIELD.

